The World Bank is all set to lend a record-high US$2.253 billion worth of fund for Bangladesh tomorrow (Monday) as five loan deals are finalised at the WB headquarters, officials said.
“Processes for confirmation of the $2.253 billion loans are being completed. The exchange of the documents will be done in presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on May 1 in Washington,” WB and Economic Relations Division (ERD) officials told the FE.
“We have been completing the process of the loans. Those will be finalised on Monday,” says Mehrin A Mahbub, WB’s spokesperson.
Officials said Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Sharifa Khan and WB country director for Bangladesh Abdoulaye Seck inked loan agreements and completed preliminary process for handover of the documents on May 01.
Just before two days of WB-Bangladesh joint celebration of the golden jubilee of partnership, to be held at the WB headquarters in Washington, DC, on May 1, the process of finalizing the loans are completed, the officials said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already arrived in Washington for joining the celebrations at the Bank head office, ERD officials said.
World Bank Group President David Malpass will also join the function.
Out of the loans, the biggest amount of $753 million is being provided for a regional-connectivity project.
And $500 million is earmarked as budgetary support for Bangladesh under the Green, Resilient Inclusive Development (GRID) programme.
The two sides have agreed on another $500 million worth of funding for Resilient Infrastructure for Adaptation and Vulnerability Reduction (RIVER) project, $250 million for Bangladesh Environmental Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) Project, and another $250 million for a project of the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), WB officials said.
Another ERD official said the WB’s aid commitment during this fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 is likely to cross $3.0-billion mark as another $500 million is in the pipeline for approval by the WB board—in what is seen as a change of wind after the Bretton Woods institution’s huff in the recent past, particularly over the Padma Bridge funding.
Earlier, the Bank had provided $300 million for Covid recovery programme.
Meanwhile, in January, Bangladesh and the World Bank jointly organised an event in Dhaka with the Ministry of Finance to celebrate the partnership that helped improve lives of millions of Bangladeshi people.
In Washington, DC, on May 02, the WB would showcase the outcome of its development collaboration with Bangladesh, which the Bank says has enabled the country to achieve lower- middle-income status only within four decades of its independence.
Currently, Bangladesh is the largest recipient of funds from the IDA (International Development Association), the WB’s concessional financing arm.
Bangladesh currently has nearly $16 billion worth of programmes with some 56 ongoing projects.
Since 1972, the World Bank has committed about $39 billion in grants, interest-free loans, and concessional credits to the country to address its development challenges.
In recent years, the WB has committed some $2.0 billion a year, ERD officials said.
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